New Year’s Resolutions for Golf

Now that the Holidays are over, I hope if you made some resolutions for the New Year they were reasonable and attainable.

Did you make any resolutions for your golf game? Hopefully if you did, you didn’t set the bar so high you can’t possibly reach it! Sure, I want to play on the Champions Tour, but probably not going to happen.

If you’re having trouble coming up with realistic goals, let me suggest a few.

1. I will determine my “Personal Par” on every hole before I play, making sure to not get too aggressive or optimistic. For now this should be the score you make at least 75% of the time you play the hole. And, I will make a realistic plan of where I can hit the ball each shot. Then, I will stick to my plan to achieve my personal par rather than taking unnecessary chances.

2. I will not try shots I know I have little chance of being successful with.

3. I will remember 1/2 of the shots are supposed to be putts. Therefore, I will spend 1/2 my practice time on putting and the short game.

4. I will always remember I am not a professional golfer. Professional golfers have bad shots and bad holes, so it’s OK for me to have bad holes…even a lot of bad holes.

5. Golf is a leisure sport we do by choice. You chose it. You enjoy it. No enjoyment, choose something you can enjoy.

That’s it - 5 simple and very attainable personal rules to golf by for 2016.

I can guarantee you lower scores and more enjoyment if you dedicate yourself to using these rules. You will find you start adjusting your “Personal Par” down on some holes after just a few rounds. Short and Sweet. Give it a try. What do you have to lose besides a few strokes!

Kim Anders is a PGA Professional residing in Mazatlan, Sinaloa Mexico. You can reach Kim via email at jkanders4@gmail.com.